The PC PowerPlay Website has a preview of the next print issue of this Australian gaming magazine, which offers a confirmation of variousindications that multiplayer support will be included in Mass Effect 3, BioWare's upcoming action/RPG sequel (thanks Joystiq). They show the magazine cover which mentions the multiplayer reveal, and offer the following description:

That’s right - Mass Effect 3 is getting multiplayer! We travel to BioWare’s office in Edmonton for hands-on time with the series’ first foray into online gameplay, and chat with Mass Effect Series Producer and Mass Effect 3 Project Director Casey Hudson about the decision to go multiplayer in the epic battle for the galaxy.

Kythlyn wrote on Oct 10, 2011, 12:48:If it's simple coop where your friends can control your allies, but are tethered to the main player, it should be fine and fun. But if they actually tried to make a competitive multiplayer mode... yikes.

Which characters can I play in co-op multiplayer? Can I play as Commander Shepard?

Commander Shepard’s part in the war will take place in the single-player campaign, as will that of other beloved characters in the franchise such as Garrus, Ashley, and Liara…these characters do not appear in the multiplayer missions. In multiplayer, players will create custom characters to fight on different and unique fronts in the war. This will include the ability to play as favorites like Turians, Krogans, Asari and more… each with their own unique set of abilities.

So it looks as if this coop stuff will be a completely detached affair.. I'm mostly fine with that to be honest. At least it lends some credibility to their claims that MP didn't affect SP (as there's no way in hell you can integrate co-op into the SP missions without making some concessions, it would among other things rule out any solo missions like the Arrival DLC).. But I don't really care how they spin it: Even though a completely separate team built the MP like they claim, it's still time and effort that could've been spent improving the SP campaign instead.

Not to say that these co-op missions won't provide a bit of fun, but ultimately I think they're mostly going for that extra bullet-point on the back of the box..